Whether you are replacing existing or adding new dock seals or dock shelters at a facility the Pentalift Dock Seal/Dock Shelter Site Check Sheet is a very important tool to have and use. The Dock Seal/Dock Shelter Site Check Sheet identifies many of the site conditions that must be taken into account when replacing or adding dock seals or dock shelters to ultimately provide the most energy saving solution. For example the overhead door size determines the most appropriate model of dock sea... Read More
Conventional Rigid Dock Shelters are a 3 sided wood or 3 sided steel frame assembly (2 side frames, 1 head frame) installed on the building wall at the loading dock area and typically project 18” -36” beyond the face of the building wall. The front of the side frames has a 24” wide, full height curtain; the head frame has a full width 30” drop curtain as standard. When a truck backs into position at the loading dock the truck backs through the projected assembly and the side curtains ... Read More
Conventional Dock Seals are a wood backed foam assembly wrapped in vinyl or neoprene. Dock seals are installed on the building wall at the loading dock and typically project 4”- 6” beyond the face of the dock bumpers. When a truck backs into position at the loading dock the back of the truck compresses the dock seal until the truck contacts the dock bumpers. This 4”- 6” of compression forms a seal on the sides and top of the trailer minimizing energy loss when the truck is in positon ... Read More
A Pentalift Model PS200 Dock Seal best suits door openings up to 9’ wide x 10’ high and consists of 2 120” high side pads and one 24” drop head curtain x 120” wide as standard. There are 4 designs of head curtains to choose from. The most popular model is the PS200A adjustable head curtain. The dock attendant has the ability to easily raise and lower the head curtain using a combination of ropes and pulleys. The adjustable head curtain should always be stored in the fully raised pos... Read More
Inflatable dock seals and inflatable truck shelters offer many advantages over traditional compression style dock seals and truck shelters. Inflatable dock seals minimize abrasion caused by the trailer as it moves up and down on the front of the seal during loading in comparison to the abrasion a comparable compression dock seal receives. With a trailer backed into position up against a compression style dock seal pressure is exerted on the building wall, an inflatable dock seal eliminates any p... Read More
Start with equipping all dock levelers at the loading dock area with weather seal to minimize costly and unwanted energy exchange. The basic dock leveler weather seal is designed to seal the side of the dock leveler deck to the pit side walls minimizing any exterior air from entering the building.  Weather seals are available in a neoprene/rubber strip design or for improved sealing or they are also available is a brush style design. Either of these weather seals works well saving energy when t... Read More
Rainstop RS800 helps make the rain go away! Had enough of the rainy season? Feel like you need to build an arc?! Dock seals are not enough. Improve dock safety and worker morale. Provide shelter from the rain. Typical docks have a slight decline approach. When rain water hits the top of the trailer it runs back in the building. This causes product damage and slippery, unsafe conditions on your loading dock. The Rainstop uses a stiffly sprung five and a half inch foam filled header curtain. This... Read More
The majority of loading dock areas has a level approach as the truck backs into the loading dock bay and contacts the dock bumpers. In some applications the truck backs down a declined approach to get to the loading dock bay. Without making special pit considerations the top of the truck’s trailer could impact the building wall or the closed overhead door causing severe damage before the bottom of the trailer contacts the dock bumpers. In this application it is recommended to extend or project... Read More
The two main areas to investigate are dock leveler weather seals and overhead door dock seals. Many dock leveler installations have conventional weather seal installed at the top of the deck side plates. This weather seal provides the best seal with the dock leveler in the closed stored position. When the dock leveler is on the truck bed and the truck bed is higher than finished floor, this sealing effect is lost. A number of dock leveler manufacturers offer a secondary wedge seal design to seal... Read More
When properly specified a declined dock area can be sealed just as effective as if it was a level approach. First you determine the percentage of decline at the loading dock area, this is done by calculating the amount of rise over 50’ from the front of the dock area. For example let’s say the percentage of decline is 4 percent. For a proper seal start with 4”-6” of dock seal projection beyond the face of the dock bumper at the bottom of the side pads. Now deduct 1” of projection at th... Read More